Line #34 Wrestling/TakaMichinoku


1	[[quoteright:266:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/58fcfc894ff375c2fd9caf3a82be6bf7.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:266:TAKA is coming... ''motherfucker''.]]
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4	Takao Yoshida (born October 26, 1973) is a Japanese {{Professional Wrestl\|ing}}er from Morioka, Iwate best known for his work internationally as TAKA Michinoku. He debuted in 1992, taking his name as a sign of respect for his mentor Wrestling/TheGreatSasuke as he debuted and wrestled for his company, Wrestling/MichinokuProWrestling (see MeaningfulName, below). He would also wrestle in other various promotions in Japan and Mexico in his early years. He would debut in the USA in 1997 via bWo Japan in Wrestling/{{ECW}}, which in turn lead to his July 6th debut for the [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} WWF]] in a well-recived match with the Great Sasuke. Months later he won a tournament to crown the "first" champion for the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/mexico/uwa/wwf-lh.html WWF Light Heavyweight Title]] (at least for the WWF, the title was defended in MPW, Mexico's Universal Wrestling Association and Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling 16 years before WWF decided to actually do anything with it.)
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6	After 10 months and several successful title defenses (including a victory in [[Wrestling/WrestleMania WrestleMania XIV]]), TAKA would lose his title to Wrestling/{{Christian}} and start feuding with his former Michinoku Pro stable Kaientai as they too entered the WWF. TAKA would eventually rejoin Kaientai as the group's number would dwindle to just TAKA and Sho Funaki. The pair would be a comedic {{Jobber}} TagTeam that had GagDub voices. In between ECW, IWA Puerto Rico and WWF he had founded the Kaientai Dojo in 2000. After TAKA left WWF in 2001 he set about turning Kaientai Dojo into a full fledged wrestling promotion. Not surprisingly, he won every title in the company at least once.
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8	TAKA also splits his time between various Japanese promotions including Michinoku Pro (see MeaningfulName), New Japan, [[Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling All Japan]], Wrestling/ProWrestlingNOAH, Wrestling/DragonGate, Wrestling/DramaticDreamTeam, Big Japan Pro Wrestling and Apache Pro-Wrestling. In 2005-2006 TAKA would hold All Japan's [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/alljapan/aj-j.html World Junior Heavyweight Title]], Michinoku Pro's [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/michinoku/tohoku-j.html Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Title]] and Kaientai Dojo's [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/kd/kd-s.html Strongest-K Title]] simultaneously for almost 10 months.
9	----
10	!!These tropes are EVIL, and they're gonna kick your ass:
11	* AmazonChaser: {{Downplayed\|trope}}, as strength is something he looked for when he settled on Malia Hosaka, but more importantly than that or anything else, she was evil! (and unfortunately released by the WWF soon after her debut).
12	* TheArtifact: The ring name Taka Michinoku formed part of a homage to Taka's mentor, Masa Michinoku. Masa later changed his name and gimmick to Wrestling/TheGreatSasuke, but Taka retained the name, even if he dropped the gimmick as well.
13	* BashBrothers: Sho Funaki, Dick Togo and Terry Boy/MEN's Teioh in Kaientai and Taichi and El Desperado in Wrestling/SuzukiGun.
14	* BitchInSheepsClothing: Got called out for being one in WWF Magazine of all places. Shortly after Togo, Teioh and Funaki appeared in WWF to feud with Taka, the magazine wrote a column about how Taka had happily participated in Kai En Tai's mayhem in Japan.
15	* BoringButPractical: Answered Naomichi Marufuji's flippy kicks with...a poke to the eyes.
16	* CanonDiscontinuity: The WWF Light heavyweight title had existed for sixteen years prior to TAKA winning in the tournament finals against Brian Christopher, being sanctioned by both the International Wrestling Grand Prix and the Universal Wrestling Association. The WWF simply decided to ignore all that had came before.
17	* CaptainErsatz: ''Videogame/FireProWrestling'' has at least one of him.
18	* CardCarryingVillain: Perhaps the first open example such to end up being an unambiguously straight baby {{face}}. In fact, their subsequent FaceHeelTurn largely failed, as the crowd still popped for them.
19	* CatchPhrase: During Kaientai's GagDub phase, his was "We are eeeeeeeeeeeeeevillllllll!"
20	* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: A high-flying pro wrestler with minimal amateur wrestling experience like TAKA doesn't look like the best aspiring MMA fighter, but he fought a bout against a heavier and much more experienced fighter like KEI Yamamiya and did pretty well, to the point some wondered how far could have TAKA gone had he dedicated himself to MMA instead of pro wrestling. It should be noted that he did have some familiarity with the shootfighting ruleset of Pancrase at the time due to his appearances in PWFG and Battlarts, in both of which he did actually wrestle under shoot style rules, being one of the few outsiders to do so.
21	* DavidVersusGoliath: Has had plenty of these matches, but him facing Wrestling/TripleH for the WWF Championship stands out.
22	* DelinquentHair: Mainly when he's a heel.
23	* DoNotCallMePaul: He apparently hates being called by his real name.
24	* EvilLaugh: Naturally, especially after he and Funaki betrayed Too Cool. Parodied when the GagDub continued laughing while he wasn't even holding the mic up.
25	* EvilVersusEvil: He claimed himself and Funaki were the most evil beings in the WWF and challenged anyone to prove otherwise. Wrestling/TheUndertaker and Wrestling/{{Kane}} answered that challenge.
26	* FaceHeelTurn: In WWF, turned on Val Venis and rejoined Kaientai because he didn't like Venis being around his sister.
27	* FinishingMove:
28	** His first move was the Michinoku Driver (straight jacket sitout powerbomb, wrongly reported sometimes as a double underhook piledriver), which he dropped, and passed to the then Michinoku trainee Makoto Saito, when he realized Yumiko Hotta had been using it earlier. He switched to the Michinoku Driver II (sitout scoop slam piledriver, although in WWF he modified it to a sitout scoop slam to make it tamer), which became his most famous driver. He later added the Michinoku Driver II-B (inverted facelock into a sitout scoop slam piledriver).
29	** In 2002, he added the Just Facelock (a seated crossface, generally from a arm twist Fujiwara armbar entry), and four years later, the Just Facelock 2006 (a sort of rear naked choke version, grabbing his arm instead of his hand, which he innovated due to a broken finger). When he faced Dick Togo, he used the Dick Killer (an arm trap cobra clutch version).
30	* ForgotFlandersCouldDoThat: During the middle of his time as a glorified jobber, Taka received a shot at the Heavyweight Title held by Triple H. The reason was Trips thought it would be a free defense. However, Taka decided to take the match seriously, hired the Acolyte Protection Agency to keep things fair, hit all the beautiful high flying offense that had gotten him over in 1999, and took Triple H to the absolute limit.
31	* FullyAbsorbedFinale: After the Universal Wrestling Association closed down, the Kaientai Dojo gained jurisdiction over their world welterweight and middle weight title belts.
32	* GagDub: Voiced by Bruce "Brother Love" Pritchard and Tom Pritchard in 2000-2001. Wrestling/ShaneMcMahon was apparently considered for it too.
33	* GoneHorriblyRight: Kaientai's Hong Kong Dub gimmick ended up getting the previously lukewarmly received group popular, too popular to be mere jobbers. So naturally they were broken up.
34	* GratuitousEnglish: Prevalent in his NJPW theme. "Taka is coming... ''motherfucker''".
35	** When he teams with or manages Suzuki-gun stablemate Wrestling/ZackSabreJr, his promos are often littered with English catch phrases, such as: [[PunctuatedForEmphasis "Just. Tap. OUT!"]], and "Come on over here!"
36	* HopeSpot: As mentioned above in DavidVersusGoliath, Taka fought Triple H for the WWF title. While he was not expected to win and, in fact, didn't, he nearly pinned Triple H several times before his opponent regrouped and defeated him.
37	* InternationalShowdownByProxy: He challenged Wrestling/SgtSlaughter in order to prove the superiority of the Japanese education system.
38	* {{Jobber}}: Only after he lost the LHW title in WWF.
39	* LaughablyEvil: As part of Kaientai when they were gag dubbed. Taka in particular was very "[[{{MemeticMutation}} EEEVVVVIIILLL]]."
40	* LegacyCharacter: His name, Taka Michinoku, was inspired by Masa Michinoku, the ring name used by Taka's mentor Wrestling/TheGreatSasuke. Taka even adopted a similar gimmick to him back then, wearing folkloric attire in his ring entrance. However, both Sasuke and Taka eventually dropped the gimmick, with Taka only retaining the name.
41	* {{Leitmotif}}: Kaientai had three main ones in the WWF. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqzbmQUzS5I Yamato Suite]] being the easiest to find and is the one TAKA keeps using in Japan, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7GSsxjn5IY This]], commonly known as "Evil" or "MEN's Teioh", being the most famous of them, as Funaki kept using it even after Taka left. The third seems absent from Youtube, aside from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfZoHiI4_mk this]] eight bit rendition.
42	* MeaningfulName: "Michinoku" is the alternate name of the Japanese region of Tōhoku. Wrestling/TheGreatSasuke, who was Taka's mentor, started using it as part of his former ring name, Masa Michinoku, which directly inspired Taka's own.
43	* MechaMooks: Robo Michinoku with Robo Hayashi in All Japan.
44	* MorePopularSpinoff: The Michinoku Driver II is this to the original Michinoku Driver, to the extent that Taka's version is often the only one that gets named, and often just gets called the Michinoku Driver. Additionally, outside of those familiar with the career of The Great Sasuke, the name Michinoku is more popularly used to refer to TAKA, despite his not even being from that region.
45	* OddFriendship: Kaientai and their "thug friend" Wrestling/{{Tazz}} while he was a wrestler. Tazz stopped liking them after becoming a commentator.
46	* OralFixation: He used to have the custom of chewing bubblegum while wrestling in Japan, in order to look punkier.
47	* PassingTheTorch: In his working as a manager/stablemate of Zack Sabre Jr, he gifted his Michinoku Driver II to him, who uses it as Zack Driver.
48	* PowerStable
49	** Is the flag-bearer for the Wrestling/SuzukiGun and a member of ECW's [=bWo=]. Kaientai is the stable probably most remembered for but YMMV on how powerful it actually was anywhere but it's original Michinoku Pro run.
50	** In AJPW, he participated in the groups Roughly Obsess and Destroy and Mexico Amigos/Mexico Amigos Black.
51	** In Dramatic Dream Team he was a member of the Italian Four Horsemen as PIZA Michinoku.
52	** Currently the senior member of Just 5 Guys.
53	* PowerTrio: Michinoku Blazers with his Kaientai Dojo students TAKU Michinoku(better known as Anzawa) and TOMO Michinoku(better known as Nakagawa)
54	* PrepareToDie: "Lowdown, people do not like you because they are prejudice? People do not like you because YOU SUCK! Now, Prepare, TO DIE!"
55	* PretentiousPronunciation: Taka's name is often typed "TAKA Michinoku", with insistent capitalization of the first name. In Japan, his character used to insist that the "Taka" be in "American letters", while the "Michinoku" (like most other names) was printed in Kanji. While it isn't pronunciation per se, it ''is'' a character trying to distinguish himself and "social climb" through a name difference.
56	* PutOnABus: After being fired from K-Dojo, Taka also took 2 and a half years out from New Japan so he could focus on recovering from an ankle injury, and work on starting his new promotion "Just Tap Out". The hiatus went on for so long that a lot of fans actually thought he'd been fired from New Japan too.
57	* RedBaron: "Sekaiichi Zuru Kashikoi Otoko" ("The Smartest Man in the World"), "Aoi Shiretoi" ("The Blue Leader").
58	* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: [[Wrestling/TheBigShow You]] may be Godzilla! But not even Godzilla is a match for Cold, Hard Cash!"
59	* SignatureMove: Back to back double underhook piledriver, Brainbuster, Dick Killer (Arm trap bridging cobra clutch).
60	* SirSwearsALot: In Japan, he primarily uses English swearwords in almost every sentence.
61	* StartMyOwn: Formed Kaientai Dojo (now known as Active Advance Pro Wrestling), which started as a dojo in Puerto Rico but moved to Japan after ECW closed and began running it's own show in addition to being a dojo for training new pro wrestlers. He founded another promotion called Just Tap Out after he got fired from Kaientai Dojo for having an eight-year-long extramarital relationship.
62	* TagTeam: He and Sho Funaki were initially known as Dream Chasers before they joined Kaientai.
63	* TheDragon: Has served as such of Wrestling/MinoruSuzuki and to a lesser extent, the Killer Elite Squad tag team.
64	* TheOneGuy: Has served as such in the Joshi (read: females only) promotion REINA.
65	* ThePrankster
66	* {{Unrelated Brother\|s}}: He turned heel and sided with Kaientai (Togo, Teioh, Funaki and manager Mr. Yamaguchi-San) because Val Venis had made a porn film with Yamaguchi-San's "wife", who was also TAKA's "sister."
67	* WeakButSkilled

Context Wrestling / TakaMichinoku